Starting a retro games collection for the first time can be a little intimidating if you don’t know where to start. This is why in this article you will be provided with some tips that you need to bear in mind before you start collecting retro games which will help you in your journey of collecting games.

• You will need to ask yourself why you want to start collecting retro games in the first place?
• Focus on games and not on hardware
• Buy games that you are actually going to play
• Buy Local If You Can

You will almost certainly have access to a store that buys and sells retro games if you live near a major city. Most video gamers believe that these are the kinds of places that have the best deals and the most reasonable prices.

• Buy games that you are going to play

If you only want to play games on their original hardware and don’t care about how they look on a shelf, or if you just like the idea of preserving a piece of video game history, start collecting in a box and stick with it.

• Don’t let anyone tell you how to collect games

There will be people who will believe that they are experts on the subject and will not hesitate to tell you that you are doing it wrong or dismiss you as not being a true collector. Ignore them.

Video Game Collection Checklist

• The first step is to get into Facebook groups of retro game collectors.
• Also you can look into trading. In the last couple of years trading has become extremely important especially since the prices of games have skyrocketed. There are a lot of people who are into trading and there are a lot of options for you to choose from. Namely Facebook and OfferUp, as well as forums like AtariAge as well as Digital Press.
• Garage sales and one thing that is nice about garage sales is that you can typically negotiate the price which is something that is very difficult to do in a gaming store. They typically know they want maximum value.
• Video games expos – it is an awesome feeling being around like-minded individuals who are into the same thing as you are as passionate about as you.
• You can consider importing games. Most often you can get the same game but in different regions for less money this happens all the time with some of the famicom games, super famicom games and some of the dreamcast games.

Is Video Collecting Worth It?

Some older video games are now worth hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars, depending on their significance and condition. Of course, most old games are considered waste and are unlikely to fetch more than a couple of  dollars at a garage sale. 

Always keep in mind that Video Game collecting should be nothing but fun, something that you enjoy playing. It should be a hobby.

How To Start A Nintendo Collection

• Choose a console and make sure that you love it. Choosing something you love makes your collection enjoyable.
• Budget your money. Take your time and don’t put all your money in your collection.
• Where to Look. Talk to friends, go to garage sales, they do have awesome great deals that you can lay your hands on. Go to your local Thrift store (second hand stores) and local game stores in your area. You can also go online eBay, Amazon.
• Do Your Research. Do research on the games that you want to collect. You can also create an account on ebay even though you will not buy so that you can look at the completed listings and know what’s selling and what’s not.
• Database your collection. Keep track of everything that you buy like where you bought it from, who you bought it from, the price you bought it for, and the value that you think it’s worth.
• When you decide to start collecting you need to understand that there is a game itself and there is also a packaging for a game. Obviously when you are a collector you want the game. Make sure that you choose wisely what to collect
• Persistence and Patience. When you are searching for a game or collecting items in the wild you need to be persistent. Don’t look once on ebay in a day but look multiple times. Don’t get frustrated if you don’t find it.
• Be Friend Store staff. Be friends with gamestop, ebay and all your local retro gaming stores if you can. Let them know your collection and what games you love.
• You are going to eventually need somewhere where you are going to store all the stuff. You can get second hand shelves for your collection so you will not have to spend much.

Retro Game Collecting Reddit

You can join a number of community forums on Reddit that share your passion for retro games collection. Others will ask for your opinion on a specific NES game that they want to own or whether they should get the game at all. You simply ask a question, and everyone responds with answers and suggestions that may be useful in your collection. If you want to start your own retro game collection, this is a good place to start.

Video Game Collector Site

Price charting

retroware TV

Racketboy

Reddit – Gamecollecting

Collecting Physical Games

• Local Gaming Stores
• Games Expo’s
• Garage Sales
• Facebook retro gaming groups that you can join (buy and sell).
• Find local swap meetups or trade events, a lot of people will put some on and you can find these on facebook groups as well
• Stay on the trends of stores, pawn shops are another great place to look in. Gamestop has some pretty good deals too.

Best Video Game Systems To Collect For GameBoy Game

• Game Boy
• Game Boy Pocket
• Game Boy Color
• Game Boy Advance
• Game Boy Advance SP